


Trees

by Mendelynn



Category: Naruto
Genre: Cute, First Love, Fluff, Hurt, Loss, M/M, Pre-kakairu, Sadness, Songfic, Trees, Watching, brain dust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:14:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25152229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mendelynn/pseuds/Mendelynn
Summary: Kakashi likes reading while sitting in trees. And he seems to spend more time doing it since someone else decided to spent their time underneath this tree.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Comments: 9
Kudos: 56





	Trees

**Author's Note:**

  * For [arimamatsui](https://archiveofourown.org/users/arimamatsui/gifts).



> Hiya!  
> This is was just a idea that popped into my head when I was listening to music today.  
> (I was making supper. I can't do household chores without music.)  
> It was such a cute idea that I had to write it down.  
> And I want to dedicate this work to arimamatsui because they're a wonderful person.  
> Thank you for commenting, supporting and just being passionate. I very much appreciate it. I appreciate you. :)

_I know  
Where you stand  
Silent  
In the trees  
And that's  
Where I am  
Silent  
In the trees_

There was the other kid again. By now, Kakashi knew his name. Iruka. Genin, troublemaker, prankster. Not incredibly talented but he had solid fighting skills. It wasn’t what Kakashi was interested in though. Iruka had lost his parents in the Kyuubi attack. He had lost everything at a time where Kakashi didn’t have anything left to lose. But they both had lost everything. And Iruka sometimes came here and hid in the trees to cry. He didn’t want other people to see his tears. He didn’t want other people to know that he was sad. He cried the silent tears Kakashi was never able to shed.

Kakashi didn’t know Iruka. Not really. Iruka didn’t know him, that much was for sure. And still, they were both here. In the trees. Iruka down on the floor between the roots, Kakashi up there in the branches. It spoke of Iruka’s shinobi skills that he hadn’t noticed Kakashi yet. This was the third time.

Iruka didn’t speak. He just cried. Kakashi wanted him to speak. He wanted to listen to his problems, his sorrows, his worries. But Iruka didn’t speak. He didn’t know that there was someone listening. Kakashi didn’t speak either. He didn’t know what to say. But there was something between them.

Kakashi liked watching Iruka. He liked the way the other looked. White shirt, tan skin, brown hair he never missed to put up in a ponytail. Expressive brown eyes that told of his sadness even when he tried to hide it. He wasn’t any good at hiding it. Nice lips that always smiled or laughed when he was with his comrades but none of it was real. A cute button nose with the adorable scar across it… Kakashi wanted to trace it with his fingers. Iruka would blush, shove him off and shout at him. Adorable.

He also liked the smell. Iruka always smelled of apples and sometimes of Ramen. Kakashi knew his smell from across the village. But still, he didn’t come here intentionally to meet Iruka. It just… happened. Maybe because he spend a lot of time reading in this tree.

Eventually, Iruka got up. He always got up after around half an hour of crying. Now, he would wipe his face, put on a determined face and walk back into the world as if nothing ever happened. His puffy, red eyes betrayed him though.

No. This time he didn’t. This time he just stood there for a moment, listening. Kakashi didn’t make a sound. Iruka hadn’t spotted him, no, he hadn’t until now. It was very unlikely. There was a long, tense moment. Then, the genin walked away, further into the woods. Before he knew what he was doing, Kakashi had put the book away and climbed down quietly to see where he was going. Iruka walked for a bit, he did not seem to have a clear destination. Kakashi followed, there was always at least one row of underbrush between them, maybe he could get a bit closer... Suddenly, Iruka stopped. Kakashi was stuck in a bush. He couldn’t move without drawing attention to himself. He had gotten close. Too close. Iruka was… right there. He had never been so close. Iruka couldn’t see Kakashi but Kakashi did see Iruka. And he could feel his breath. He could smell his tears. His heart hadn’t been beating that quickly before. It was loud in his own ears. This was the moment. Iruka must’ve noticed him. Why didn’t he say anything? Kakashi held his breath. He was so close... This was the moment. He should say something. What was he supposed to say?

What about ‘hello?’ He could say hello. He didn’t know how to explain this situation though. Could he just act as if it was a coincidence? Hardly. But he wanted to say something. Anything. He throat was clogged up with… something. It couldn’t be nervousness. Kakashi didn’t get nervous; he was too good of a shinobi to be nervous. But the pace of his heartbeat told a different story. So he just stood there, silently, invisible. Iruka in front of him, tear-stained, utterly lost, beautiful. His eyes were just so beautiful. His scar was flushed. As were his cheeks. And he smelled of apples today, not Ramen. He’d probably have Ramen later. Kakashi could buy him Ramen. He had a lot more money than Iruka. He could…

Iruka sniffled, wiped his eyes. A deep inhale. Then he turned around and walked away. And Kakashi just stood there and watched him leave. He could’ve said hello… he should’ve. Why didn’t he? He didn’t know. He didn’t understand. It probably was nothing anyway.

So he just shrugged and jumped away in the opposite direction. They would meet again. Iruka on the ground, Kakashi on a branch. At this tree or another.

**Author's Note:**

> The characters, of course, do not belong to me. This is Kishimoto Masashi's work.  
> And the song I quote in the beginning was also not written by me. That's "Trees" by Twenty One Pilots.  
> (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szp9x1ZlZn4)  
> I basically don't have any rights on this story. It's just for fun.  
> I hope you liked it. ^^


End file.
